15 



Although the Jackdaw is generally distributed over the British Isles British 

 with the exception of the barren moorlands, yet there are certain districts '^^^*- 

 in Scotland and Ireland where it is absent without any apparent cause. 

 It is only a visitor to the Shetlands, but there are several colonies in the 

 Orkneys and a few have bred in Skye since 1897, although as yet it is absent 

 from the Outer Hebrides and St. Kilda. In West Ross it is rare, but is reported 

 as increasing in numbers in the Inner Hebrides. In many of the islands 

 off the Irish coast and on some parts of the mainland, it is replaced by 

 the Chough. It is abundant in the Isle of Man. The nesting sites adopted 

 by this species are of the most varied character. Where high cliffs are 

 found, whether on the coast or inland, it usually breeds in holes and crevices 

 of the rock. Hollows in the roofs of natural caves, such as the Peak 

 Cavern in Derbyshire, are also tenanted by many pairs, as are also the 

 sides of 'water -swallows' and quarries. The Jackdaw nests readily in 

 buildings: old castles, church towers, chimneys of houses and dovecotes 

 being frequently occupied. In the wooded plains the nest is frequently 

 placed in a hollow tree, but where timber is absent or small, it is not 

 uncommon to find Jackdaws breeding in rabbit holes, especially in Ireland. 

 More exceptional sites are among ivy on walls, in old Magpie-nests, among 

 the foundations of Herons' nests, or old and bulky masses of nests in a 

 Rookery. Occasionally the Jackdaw builds a nest for itself at the junction 

 of a bough with the trunk of a tree. Instances have been reported from 

 Northampton, Staffordshire, Salop, Worcestershire, Lanark and Fifeshire. 

 A nest in the rigging of a training ship at Gareloch was noticed in the 

 Annals of Scott. Nat. Hist. 1892, p. 43. 



No Jackdaws breed in the Fseroes or Iceland, but in France, Belgium, p*"^" 

 Holland and Germany it is commonly found in suitable localities. In the Europe. 

 Iberian peninsula it is very local, but Tait found a colony breeding under 

 rocks in islands in Vigo Bay, Galicia, and it is locally common in some 

 of the Cotos of the Guadalquivir, etc. In Switzerland it is distributed 

 through the low-lying plain, but is not found in the Alps. In Austro- 

 Hungary it is common in the 'Auen' near Vienna, and though absent from 

 some districts is found locally throughout the greater part of the country; 

 while it has been observed breeding in Italy, Sardinia, Sicily and Malta. 

 The eastern limit of this race has not been exactly determined. 



[In Marocco it is common at Tetuan and Dixon described it as numerous 

 in the province of Constantine, but Konig failed to meet with it there and 

 von Erlanger omits it from his list of Tunisian birds.] 



The Jackdaw is a sociable bird, and where nesting sites are available. Nest. 

 breeds gregariously; but it is not uncommon to find single pairs breeding 

 by themselves. Where the nest is built in a hole, the amount of material 

 used depends upon the size of the hole. In small holes of trees I have 



